Download Urine Sediment Guide

IDEXX UA™ Strips Test Menu Descriptions
Compensation Pad (COMP): This white pad is used by the IDEXX VetLab UA
Analyzer to compensate for the intrinsic color of the urine that might affect the
evaluation of the parameters.
Blood/Hemoglobin (BLD/HGB): The blood/heme reaction detects heme
groups found within hemoglobin and myoglobin. The test may be positive
because of hematuria, hemoglobinuria or myoglobinuria.
Bilirubin (BIL): In dogs (especially male dogs), bilirubinuria is common even
under normal conditions, but any bilirubinuria in cats is significant. Bilirubinuria
usually precedes bilirubinemia because urine is commonly concentrated
(hypersthenuric) compared to plasma.
Urobilinogen (UBG): Intestinal bacteria convert conjugated bilirubin to
urobilinogen. A fresh urine sample is necessary for evaluation. There is little
correlation between the presence of urobilinogen and liver disease.
Glucose (GLU): Glucose must exceed the renal threshold for
reabsorption to be detected in dogs and cats. This most commonly occurs
with diabetic patients and occasionally with stress. This value should be
evaluated in light of the patient’s clinical status and blood glucose value.
Ketones (KET): Urine ketones are produced by the breakdown of lipids.
The most common causes for increased ketone values is diabetic
ketoacidosis. Less common causes include prolonged fasting, starvation
and low-carbohydrate diets.
Nitrite (NIT): The nitrite test is not valid for veterinary use because of
false-positive and false-negative results. The majority of bacterial infections in
dogs and cats are not caused by organisms that reduce nitrate to nitrite.
Protein (PRO): Proteinuria may indicate both renal and nonrenal disease.
If significant proteinuria is detected and there is an inactive sediment,
urine protein:creatinine ratio (UPC) should be performed to obtain protein
quantification for accurate assessment and monitoring.
pH: Urine pH is determined by the kidney’s ability to regulate hydrogen ion
and bicarbonate concentrations within the blood. Urine pH may reflect the
animal’s acid-base status if hydration status and overall plasma electrolyte
balance are not markedly disturbed.
Leukocytes (LEU): The leukocyte test pad detects the enzyme leukocyte
esterase, not individual leukocytes. The leukocyte parameter should not be
used to test urine from cats. All test results for dogs should be confirmed with
microscopy because of a high number of false-negative results.
Specific Gravity (SG): The urine specific gravity should be measured
with a refractometer, which measures the density of the urine relative to
the density of water. This value should be interpreted in light of the patient’s
hydration status and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels.
Interpretation (Expected Values)
Analyte
Normal
Reporting Results
WBC
0–5/HPF
Number/HPF
RBC
0–5/HPF
Number/HPF
Epithelial Cells
0–Few/HPF
Number/HPF
Crystals
Variable
Number/LPF
Casts
0–Few/LPF
Number/LPF
Bacteria
0–Few/HPF
1+ to 4+/HPF
Easy
Efficient
Consistent
IDEXX VetLab® UA™ Analyzer and IDEXX UA™ Strips
IDEXX Urine Sediment Guide
IDEXX Learning Center
Knowledge you can put into practice™
Take advantage of a wide range of educational resources, reference materials and
events focused on veterinary medicine, veterinary technician training and practicemanagement tools.
Here are some examples of on-demand educational opportunities
on the topic of renal disease.
Online Courses
• The IDEXX Guide to the Complete Urinalysis*
Archived Webinars
• The Complete Urinalysis*
• Chemistry Confusion: How Laboratory Profiling Can Help*
Self-Study articles
• The Renal Disease Challenge*
• Proteinuria and Renal Disease—A Roundtable Discussion
• Renal Disease—Case-Based Approach to Acute Renal Failure,
Chronic Renal Failure and Protein-Losing Nephropathy
• Renal Disease Case Studies
Snippets
• The Importance of Including a Complete Urinalysis as Part of
a General Health Screen
• Interpreting the Urinalysis Results
Visit idexxlearningcenter.com to see our full listing of
available webinars, seminars and online training courses.
*CE credit approved.
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Urine Sediment Guide
Cells
Figure 1 Erythrocytes and one squamous
epithelial cell
Figure 2 Erythrocytes and two leukocytes
(black arrows)
Figure 3 Numerous leukocytes and few
rod-shaped bacteria
Figure 4 Many rod-shaped bacteria,
100x objective field of view
Figure 5 Many leukocytes and large rodshaped bacteria (black arrowheads)
Figure 6 Numerous bacteria and leukocytes
Figure 7 Transitional epithelial cells
Figure 8 Squamous epithelial cells
Figure 9 Epithelial cells (black arrows), RBC
(red arrows) and WBC (blue arrows)
Figure 10 Transitional cell carcinoma
(NMB wet prep on right)
Figure 11 Transitional cell carcinoma
(NMB wet prep on right)
Figure 12 Transitional cell carcinoma,
air-dried and Diff-Quik stained
Figure 13 Hyaline cast (borders outlined)
Figure 14 Left: Granular cast
Right: Mixed waxy and granular cast
Figure 15 Waxy cast
Figure 16 Struvite
Figure 17 Amorphous (NMB wet prep
on right)
Figure 18 Bilirubin
Figure 19 Ammonium urate
Figure 20 Left: Calcium oxalate monohydrate
Right: Calcium oxalate dihydrate
Figure 21 Drug (Tribrissen™) crystals,
10x objective field of view
Figure 22 Left: Fat droplets (red arrows, RBC)
Right: Sperm
Figure 23 Pearsonema plica
Figure 24 Contaminant fragmented fiber
Casts
Crystals and
Miscellaneous
All images, unless otherwise indicated,
are representative of a high power field of
view (40x objective field of view)
Images and information provided by:
Dennis B. DeNicola, DVM, PhD, DACVP
Rick L. Cowell, DVM, MS, MRCVS, DACVP
Michelle Frye, MS, DVM